“As a black American man you’re taught that you have to be the most imposing, the most physical, that much better than your counterparts—and being homosexual is perceived as the inverse of that. But finding Chiron’s character, for me, had very little to do with [his] sexuality, because I feel like you fall in love with the mental aspect of people, not the physical. If I’d been born loving men, I’d love them the same way I love women. For me, it was really more about learning to hate myself, because Chiron hates himself. I had to allow myself to feel this disdain towards other people because I couldn’t accept myself. I really didn’t know I wanted to be an actor until this role. [Acting] always felt like pretending. But with this character, I felt as far removed from myself as I could be—and I loved this person. I cried for him.” - Trevante Rhodes about his role in Moonlight